Socrata Appoints François Stieger to Advisory Board

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Distinguished Global Entrepreneurial Leader Will Help Company Accelerate Its International Growth As It Drives Open Data Adoption Around the World

Seattle, Washington (PRWEB)April 30, 2013

Socrata (http://www.socrata.com), a Seattle-based cloud software company focused exclusively on democratizing access to government data, today announced that François Stieger, a distinguished entrepreneurial leader in the global software and information / communications markets, has formally joined its Advisory Board.

Stieger’s main focus and mission will be to help Socrata accelerate its international growth as it drives open data adoption around the world.

"François is an incredibly relevant advisor for us,” explains Kevin Merritt, Socrata’s Founder and CEO. “Open data is a global initiative. We’re expanding globally to meet this demand, and having a strong presence on virtually every continent is a must for us. We’re fortunate to have one of the most accomplished, skilled and experienced business leaders helping us formulate and execute our international expansion strategy.”

Capitalizing on International Opportunities

Concurring with Merritt, Stieger believes that international markets represent a tremendous – and critical – opportunity for Socrata.

“It’s important that Socrata become even more present and active internationally,” says Stieger. “My expertise is in building U.S. technology companies in Europe, the Middle East, Russia and other key markets. In particular, I believe that Turkey and Brazil are two emerging markets that offer a lot of potential for the company.”

Before his appointment to Socrata’s Advisory Board, Stieger served as CEO of Intentional Software’s international business, and in senior leadership positions for the international operations of VeriSign, Oracle and BroadVision. He was also a venture capital partner at Amadeus Capital in London. He is now an angel investor in promising startups and sits on several executive and advisory boards, including Typesafe and BroadVision.

Stieger joins Bill Bryant, a venture partner with Draper Fisher Jurvetson, on Socrata’s Advisory Board and will be based in Geneva, Switzerland.

Achieving Measurable Success

Socrata’s momentum has been strong in recent months.

Over the past two quarters the company has added many innovative new customers, including: the State of New York, Oakland, Salt Lake City, Kansas City, Raleigh, Madison (WI), San Mateo County (CA), Travis County (TX), and Snohomish County (WA) – as well as Halifax in Canada.

These new customers join other forward-thinking Socrata customers like New York City, Chicago, San Francisco, the State of Maryland, the State of Hawaii, the State of Washington, the World Bank, Medicare, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

In addition, the company’s revenues have grown 131 percent year over year, and 38 percent between Q4 2012 and Q1 2013. Socrata has also retained 100 percent of its customers, and 82 percent have upgraded or expanded on their initial purchase. And, consumption of data on the company’s network has grown 215 percent during the same time period.

Making Important Things Happen

“Socrata is really impressive, because of all it’s been able to do in such a short time,” observes Stieger. “Winning and retaining so many customers, and becoming so visible in the market, are key metrics of success. The company’s leadership and team are definitely making important things happen.”